Wednesday, October 03, 2007

It is all Aboot them!

The American greenback’s long fall has given the opportunity of a lifetime to some of our neighbors. Peter Alexander reports

With the dollar getting crushed, it appears that the Canadian Looney is laying the smack down in America. According to this report 5 years ago you could exchange a 100 dollar bill for 160 Canadian dollars. But now they are both dead even. Or if you want to be exact.

Now the Canadians are crossing the border looking for bargains and other goodies. However there is a negative consequence to this turnaround. The film and television industry would go north for cheaper production costs, but with this new dynamic in currency production costs are rising so shows like Stargate:Atlantis, Eureeka and basically the entire lineup of the Sci Fi Channel are in a tight bind along with the pending writer's strike.

One state that is taking advantage of this windfall is the resting place of Bruce and Brandon Lee.

“We’re looking at a flood, but the dam is the border, and it’s tough getting everything through that border,” said Mike Kent, a Realtor in Birch Bay, an unincorporated area south of Blaine where Kent said Canadians have been snapping up water-view property that looks across at the pricier hills of their homeland.

New York has also gone on the Maple Leaf band wagon and has been advertising heavily in Canada to bring more tourists to New York.

So if you see a poutine scarfing, maple syrup sucking Canadian in the neighborhood, give them a hug and point them to the nearest open house. The Canadian people may play a key role in holding up this market.